August 2010 MMA News Archive

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Bellator announced the signing one of MMAs top prospects and one of my closest friends today Chris "The Assassin" Lozano
Chris has devestating power in both hands, as well as a full arsenal of kicks and a solid wrestling background.
he has been working towards this for a long time, and coming off of a one sided TKO win over UFC veteran Jason Dent, the timing seems perfect!
there are some awesome possibilities for matchups with guys like Yoshida, Blackburn, Cooper and Hornbuckle

PUJI Capitol is conducting an internal review of Fighting and Entertainment Group's (FEG) assets and liabilities in advance of a push to attract investors to the struggling fight promotion. "The actions they're taking are similar to an audit," FEG's U.S. representative, Mike Kogan, said on Monday. Kogan said the Japanese investment bank hopes to raise $230 million for FEG, which operates MMA's DREAM promotion and the K-1 kickboxing organization, over the next five years. But with the company's current financial condition, that timeline may need to be shortened. More uncertainty arose this past week with reports that FEG had canceled DREAM.17, an event planned for Oct. 25 in South Korea. Kogan, though, said that the event was taken off the table earlier this year when DREAM.14, originally scheduled for April 24 in Seoul, was scratched due to the absence of a television broadcast deal in the country. Only 2 DREAM events are scheduled the rest of the year. But Kogan admitted FEG's future is grim if the Japanese investment bank does not make headway by the beginning of next year.

Strikeforce fighter Brett Rogers will meet fellow heavyweight Ruben Villareal at an October event in Canada. The W-1 MMA organization hosts the show, "W-1: New Ground," on Oct. 23 at the Halifax Forum in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Strikeforce has given Rogers permission to compete at the event.

This past weekend's "UFC Prelims" special on Spike TV drew a series-low 1.1 million viewers. Nevertheless, the one-hour special drew a 0.83 household rating and was the highest-rated cable program in its timeslot among men 18-49 and men 18-34. However, in a rare occurrence, the ratings actually diminished throughout the broadcast, which could be blamed at least partially on a lackluster bout between Nik Lentz and Andre Winner that opened the Aug. 28 broadcast. An initial audience of 1.204 million viewers tuned in for "UFC Prelims" broadcast, but it fell to just 1.128 million in the next quarter hour. The decline continued (1.062 million and then 1.059 million) throughout each quarter hour of the broadcast, which concluded with the airing of lightweight bout between Joe Lauzon and Gabe Ruediger.

Winston Churchill, Jimmy Carter, Albert Einstein, Richard Nixon, the Queen of England, Henry Kissinger, the Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa, Bobby Kennedy, Stephen Hawking, Richard Dawkins, Clint Eastwood...Dana White? Joining a long list of some of history's most influential figures, White will address Oxford University's famed Oxford Union Society in October, UFC officials today announced. White's visit to the British university, which is the oldest among the English-speaking world, comes Oct. 13, three days before White and Co. host "UFC 120: Bisping vs. Akiyama" at The 02 in London. "It is a great honor to be invited to address the Oxford Union," White stated. "Anyone who knows anything about me knows I always speak my mind and am very passionate about what I do, and the Oxford Union was founded on exactly those principles. I'm looking forward to meeting the students, and I know they have a reputation for asking tough questions and expecting straight answers from their guests. That's exactly what they'll get from me."

Spike TV's live broadcast of this past week's UFC 118 weigh-ins resulted in an average audience of 380,000 viewers, an industry source today confirmed with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).
The Aug. 27 broadcast aired at 4 p.m. ET (1 p.m. PT) live from Boston's TD Garden.
Spike TV officials could not be reached for comment, but a source close to the event said the ratings figure was "pretty good" for its timeslot and especially strong among men 18-34.

Kazuo Misaki talked to the press about his epic bout against Jorge Santiago, and mentioned something that is pretty bothering. He injured his leg about a month ago, and even had to inject painkillers before the fight:

"(Mario Miranda) defends really well, and in really sticky situations, where you have to defend taking blows. Sport Jiu-Jitsu is one thing, MMA is really different. He defended really well in difficult positions ... It’s something I need to fix, but credit to him, too."
"I controlled the standup game well, landed good takedowns, but couldn’t manage to finish. I’m going to go back and contemplate that now."

UFC president Dana White saw Kenny Florian's loss to Gray Maynard at UFC 118 on Saturday night as yet another sign that Florian cracks under the pressure of the big fights, falling short just as he's about to reach the top.
But to hear Florian tell it, the defeat was far more physical than mental.

Kimbo Slice is the same person he's always been, the former street brawler-turned-MMA fighter and now professional boxer said Monday, reflecting on his stint with the UFC.
"I've always been the same person, UFC ain't done [expletive] to me except put more money in my pocket," Slice said. "Bring me down or tear me up, the UFC was what it was; the opportunity to make some money and feed my family. That's what it was. I've always been humble and I'll still be that way. They [didn't] make or break me."

And he doesn't understand what the fuss is all about with regards to his last 7 wins-all decisions. "That's what I keep telling people! Who is stopping them? Name a name and I'll bow down, but who is stopping these guys? That's why I can't pay attention to these people. If you're a true sports fan who enjoys MMA and really try to understand it, you'll get it. Look at Edgar. He's only ever lost to myself. Look at Clementi, who has 52 professional fights and has only been stopped a handful of times. Jim Miller has only lost to the champion and myself. Huerta has never been stopped. Pretty much the same thing with Nate Diaz. Florian did get stopped by Penn, but you see what I mean. It's an excuse, but that's just how it is. I'm asking for the top guys. The decisions are just part of it. The sport is growing so much that these fights are just going to keep getting closer and closer. I don't know what people are going to do, but there are going to be a lot more close fights. More fighters are able to pull in the cash you need to hire the top coaches and eat and train right. We're going up against the guys where that's all they do year round. They train everyday. The gap is going to start to close on these title fights. Guys are getting better and better. People will start to appreciate it, it just takes time."

With the season 12 debut of the "Ultimate Fighter" just a couple of weeks away, the UFC is mapping out the future of the reality show that will include an international flavor and a WEC version of the show coming soon. White also confirmed the flyweight division in the WEC, in a move that could be completed before the end of the 2010 calendar year.

Shark Fights has dropped heavyweight Dave Herman from its Sept. 11 event in Amarillo, Texas, due to his pending litigation with rival promotion Bellator Fighting Championships. Herman was to have appeared on the night’s undercard against Aaron Rosa; Rosa will now face IFL veteran Devin Cole instead.

Sengoku officials require him to defend his belt once every six months, but that doesn't mean Santiago wants to wait that long. He's open to proving his talents once again in the U.S., particularly in Strikeforce, where he won a single-night four-man tournament in November 2007 shortly before making his way overseas.

Fedor Emelianenko may never step foot in the UFC’s Octagon, but the biggest MMA promotion in the world won’t ignore what the Russian was able to accomplish during his days with Pride Fighting Championships, and during season 2 of the popular Spike TV show, the “Last Emperor” will make his debut. Many fans wondered about Fedor’s inclusion in the show after he didn’t make an appearance during the first season of the program that features the best Pride fights from the extensive library the UFC obtained when the purchased the company a few years back. UFC president Dana White says the Russian fighter will definitely appear in the 2nd season, set to debut later this year. “Season 2 homie, Best of Pride, Fedor is on it,” White said during a Q&A session with fans during the UFC Fan Expo in Boston.

Yes, the boxer still wants a piece of "The Natural" even after UFC 118-albeit in boxing this time as Toney called out Couture once again. But a little more respectfully this time. "My thing with Randy Couture is he is a legend in his sport. He seems like a good person. I don't know him personally, but from when I met him, he seems like he's a great dude, man. And if he is a real man, come put the gloves on. I did it his way, now come do it my way. I'm glad they got respect for me because my background speaks for me. Everybody knows that I ain't got no bitch in me."

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is coming back to Montreal, and the event will be headlined by the most famous Canadian in the sport.
Georges St-Pierre's title defense against Josh Koscheck will take place on Dec. 11 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, UFC president Dana White confirmed with MMA Fighting Monday.

After NBA superstar Shaquille O'Neal made his his first public appearance as a newly signed Boston Celtic at this past weekend's UFC Fan Expo Boston 2010 at the Hynes Convention Center in "Shaqachussetts," could the "Big Shamrock" soon become the "Big Octagon?" If it's up to O'Neal, fantasy could become reality. While O'Neal told ESPN on Saturday that he would like to take a fight against Korean striker and fellow 7-footer Hong Man Choi, the future NBA Hall of Famer told fans at a special Q&A session earlier in the day that not only is he serious about the challenge, but he'd like to turn the opportunity into a television special. "I would train here for a month," O'Neal said. "Then I would go to Korea to train for a month, and then we fight. The name of the show would be called 'Pick on Somebody Your Own Size.' Hong Man Choi, I'm coming for you." Of course, if Choi's not game, O'Neal could wind up featuring MMA in a future episode of his ABC-broadcast series "Shaq Vs." Namely Shaq and one Tito Ortiz.

And he wants to take it from the new Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion. "I want it known that I want Feijao, and if he's a real champion, he'll want to avenge his loss. I believe it makes me the number one contender, and I hope Strikeforce feels the same. I have a lot of fans that have been calling me, telling me, texting me and telling me that the (next title) fight should be mine. It was a good show to watch, an exciting fight. I was a little disappointed that Mo didn't put on a better fight. The inexperience of both fighters showed, and that's where I believe I will beat Feijao, because I have more experience than him. No disrespect to him or his camp, but he has my belt, and I'm better than him in every category and that I can beat him in every category. If you put me in the cage with him again, it's going to be the same fight as last time." They first fought in June 2009 with Kyle winning by 2nd round TKO.